Shifters
by Shadow werewolf54
Summary: Hermione couldn't wait for her 17th birthday that is until she finds out something that will change everything that she thought she knew. She isn't who or what she thought she was. There are other like her but she has to find them first.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**- Hey everyone this is only the second story I have started. I know that the Grammar may be the best but I'm trying and I tried to research it the best that I could but I'm not sure if I can portray everyone within character and some maybe different. So I'm sorry if people are out of character a bit. I'll try to update as much as I can but I can't really promise anything because at the moment I am deployed and don't always have a lot of time to work on the story. Oh I forgot to mention that both Dumbledore and Sirius will still be alive.

**Disclaimer:** Sadly I don't own Harry Potter if I did Hermione and Draco would have gotten together instead of Hermione and Ron and I wouldn't be writing fan fiction if I did.

**Chapter One**

Hermione woke up with a smile. Her 17th birthday was just a few weeks away and in a couple days she would return to the magical world. 'Nothing could make this day worse' she thought while her smile got bigger. "Hermione come down for breakfast. We have a long day ahead of us." Hermione's Mother Jane yelled from downstairs.

Hermione got out of bed and while she got dressed she thought about what her mother said. 'A long day ahead of us, what do mom and dad have planned?' She pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt then pulled her hair up in a pony tail before heading downstairs. "Mom what did you mean when you said that we had a long day. I thought yesterday you and dad didn't have anything planned?" She asked when she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table to eat.

"Well sweetheart, your headmaster sent an owl and requested that all of us go with him to his office when he showed up. Professor Dumbledore, your father and I have something that we want to talk to you about" Her mother replied with a smile as she held up a piece of parchment.

"How are we going to get there mom? I can't apparate yet, the house isn't connected to the floo network and we don't have a port key." Hermione asked with confusion.

"Oh he said that he would stop by here in a bit. He said that h had a way that he could take us to the school. I'm not really sure how he is going to do it though now that you ask." Just as her mother finished talking there was a knock at the door.

Hermione was about to stand up to answer the door but she heard her father Allen answer it before she could stand. A minute later Professor Dumbledore walked into the kitchen. "Ah miss Granger I assume that your parents told you that we wanted to talk to you today about a few things." He said with that twinkle in his eye that he was known for.

"Yes Sir, my mother and I were just talking about it. What is it you wanted to talk to me about" Hermione asked with a slight smile for the headmaster.

"Good, good as for your question everything will be answered in time my dear. Now I have a port key that will take the four of us to my office for this talk," He said as he held out a large piece of cloth, "just grab onto this cloth and then we can get going."

Hermione's parents looked at each other hesitantly before grabbing onto the cloth that Dumbledore was holding out. They really didn't know what to expect and magic was still a bit strange to them at times. Hermione smiled slightly since she understood her parent's hesitation when to came to magic before also grabbing a hold of the cloth. She had a feeling that her parents wouldn't like this kind of transportation that much. She felt the familiar tug at her navel as the portkey was activated and they were on their way to Dumbledore's office. Soon they were standing or at least she and Dumbledore were standing in Dumbledore's office. Her parents had fallen on the floor when they landed. Dumbledore walked around to the opposite side of the office where his chair was and sat down. "Come now and sit down. Lemon Drop anyone?" He said as he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

"No Thank you, sir" They all replied with a slight laugh.

"Now Hermione your parents have something to tell you that will surprise you and I have a few things to add as well. This is something that you need to know so we all would appreciate it if you stayed quiet long enough for us to finish what we want to tell you" Dumbledore said as he looked at Hermione with a serious look, the twinkle in his eye was gone.

Hermione's mother looked at her and it looked like she wanted to explain everything but instead suddenly burst into tears. 'This can't be good' Hermione thought surprised because normally her mother was very emotionally strong and rather calm. 'Too calm at times' she thought. "Hermione your mother and I always wanted to tell you but Dumbledore asked us to keep it a secret until a few weeks before your 17th birthday. Apparently it is something that was requested. Also we were slightly selfish and didn't want to tell you because we always wanted you to be ours ever since we laid eyes on you as a child. What I'm trying to say to you sweetheart is that we adopted you when you were two years old. You see Jane and I found out that we couldn't have children and then Professor Dumbledore showed up not long after and had you in his arms." Allen said as he hugged his wife who was still crying.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something forgetting that Dumbledore asked her to stay quiet but was cut off by a stern look from her headmaster. "Miss Granger, when you were only two years old your biological parents Katrina and Darien Walker came to me looking for help. They wanted me to put in into a muggle families care until either a few weeks before your birthday or the day that they came looking for you. They wanted me to put a glamour charm on you while in the Grangers care for you had a feature that the Walker family was known for and that was your eyes. I'm sorry to say this since you have been bullied for being something you are not for the past 6 years but you are a Pureblood and you line is as old if not older then the Malfoy's." Dumbledore said with a sad tone since he knew that Hermione's life was going to be turned upside down.

Hermione was speechless for the first time in her life for a few moments. A few tears fell from her eyes before she quickly wiped them away and asked "Professor why did my parents give me up and have you give me to a muggle family?"

"Well, your parents were being hunted by Voldemort for two things. One they were a strong and old pureblood family. They were both Auror's and very good ones at that but neither was strong enough to stand against Voldemort and they knew that. Two there was something special about your parents that runs in the family. They gave you away because of this special ability as they called it because they did not want Voldemort to get a hold of you and use you for his own gain which he surely would have done. After they gave you to me they said that they were going to try and go into hiding but Voldemort got them before they could and killed them both when they refused to join his side." Dumbledore replied.

"Special, what would be special about me?" Hermione asked confused as she tried to take everything in.

"Not even I know that Miss Granger. I asked your parents about it so that I could maybe tell you when the time came but they said that it is a family secret that not many know and they already had one person inform Voldemort about this special ability in the family and they did not want anyone else to know that were not like them. Though they did give me a chest that I was to give to you when you were informed about your biological parents" Dumbledore said as he pulled out a shrunken chest and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione looked at the chest in her hand and a few more tears slide down as she realized this is all she would ever have of her biological parents. "Professor, do you by chance know who was the person who betrayed my family to Voldemort and could you please remove the glamour charm so that I know what I really look like?"

"The person who betrayed your family is the same one who betrayed the Potter's" Dumbledore replied with a frown.

Dumbledore then gave her a small smile before he tapped his wand on her head. Hermione shivered as a strange sensation spread though her body. "You will notice that your appearance has not changed much. The main differences are your hair and the eyes that identify you as a Walker to any pureblood" Dumbledore said as he stepped away and transfigured something into a full body mirror.

Hermione gasp as she looked at herself in the mirror. Professor Dumbledore was right her body itself was pretty much the same but she was a little bit taller than before. The thing that made her gasp though was the bright amber eyes that were looking back at her. Her hair now was a golden brown and looked tamed instead of the frizzy bush that she was used to. She grinned as she realized Malfoy couldn't call her a mudblood anymore once he saw her eyes. She remembered reading something about the Walker family in the library but the main thing that had stuck in her head had been the trait that all Walker's born into the family had and that was the amber eyes that were now her own. Her blood was a pure as his own. 'Stupid bastard' she thought with a smirk.

"Hermione, dear are you ready to head home?" her mother asked with a strained voice from crying.

Hermione jumped and blushed when she heard her mother talk. With everything that was going on she had forgotten that her adoptive parents were in the office with her. 'How could I have forgotten? Then again I do have a lot to take in. I guess Harry and I have one more thing in common when it comes to the rat called wormtail. Wait speaking of Harry how will I tell him and Ron about all of this.' She thought with a sad sigh before looking at her mother and replying "Sure I want to see what my biological parents left me anyways."

"Oh Miss Walker, don't worry about the size of the chest it will go to its original size when you need it too" Dumbledore said as he handed them another portkey which was an old newspaper this time. The next thing they knew that were back in the kitchen of the Granger household. "Mom, Dad I love both of you still. You were the ones who raised me for as long as can remember" Hermione said as she hugged her parents.

They both smiled and hugged her back. "we hoped that you would feel that way dear. In our minds you will always be our daughter no matter what your real last name is" Allen replied with tears in his eyes.

Hermione smiled back at her adoptive parents. "I'll be up in my room looking at the chest" She said as she stepped back and headed up the stairs to her room.

Her parents nodded and sat on the couch to watch a bit of TV before Jane had to make dinner. Hermione walked into her room and pulled the chest out of her pocket and out it on her bed. She thought about how she was going to open it and smiled as the chest suddenly grew to its normal size. 'Good old' Professor Dumbledore' she though with a laugh. The chest then opened on its own as if it knew that its owner was standing before it. The first thing that Hermione noticed in the chest was a small leather bound book. She smiled knowing that she would have fun reading that when she was done looking through the chest. She set it off to the side on her desk and shifted through the rest of the chest. There was some beautiful jewelry that she guessed once belonged to her mother and she smiled at the thought. There were also a few dresses that might come in handy if there were any balls this year. The last thing in the chest was picture of her parents holding her when she was a baby. She noticed that she looked just like her mother but then her mother had blue eyes instead of her amber. She got her eyes from her father who was tan with a tall and muscular frame, short black hair, and the amber eyes common in the Walker family.

She decided to put the picture on her desk and picked up the book. She smiled once again before opening it and starting to read.

_My Dearest daughter if you are reading this then your father and I were not able to raise you and teach you all that you need to know about yourself. We both love you very much and wish that we could have been there for you but the dark lord was too strong for the two of us to take on while you were with us. Now on to more important things there is something special about both your fathers and my family that is passed on though genes. You come from a long line of what the wizarding world calls shifters. I know what you're asking. What is a shifter?_

_ Not much is written or spoken of shifters because normally all the information is passed from the parent to the child. A shifter is basicly someone who can turn into an animal at will. Unlike were's they are not controlled by the moon. The animal you will turn into is different based on your genes. A female will take after her mother and a male will take after his father. Like for example you will shift into a grey wolf because that is what I am. One thing that you may not like since you did not grow up knowing about it is that every shifter has a mate. Your mate can either be a normal human or a shifter. It doesn't matter the species of the shifter. Like some close friends of mine Molly and Arthur Weasley are separate species. Molly is a coyote shifter and Arthur is a red fox. Your mate may also be someone you hate at first. That's what happened with your father and I. One thing that you can never forget is that only those closest to you can know what you are. Be careful in picking who you tell because there are those who will betray you to others who want to use your power for their own gain. Something's that I almost forgot to mention is that you will be slightly stronger, faster, and more agile then a normal human. Also your wolf will have her own personality and mind within yours. At time she may say something to you or give you advice. At others she will try to take control in situations that she thinks you can't or would have a hard time dealing with. Just remember that she loves you, your mate, and your pack if you have one._

_ There are chances of a shifter being innate but that is not known to happen in our families. For example someone that your father went to school with James Potter was an innate shifter. Your shifter will take effect on your 17__th__ birthday but in some family's like Molly's take effect at 16. _

_Your loving mother._

_P.S. This book is here to help in times that you may need it._

Hermione was shocked. First she found out that she isn't a muggleborn and is actually a pureblood. Something she had wished multiple times over the years when she was bullied. Then she finds out that she's not even human or a normal witch but a shifter. Someone who could turn into a wolf once her 17th birthday came around. "So much for nothing can make this day worse" she mumbled as she fell back onto the part of the bed that wasn't covered by the chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- **I got this chapter done a lot faster than I thought I would. Oh I'm just going to point out a few things that I didn't point out before. Hermione is going to be the same age as everyone else and Lucius Malfoy was given the dementor's kiss when he went to Azkaban. Also I was thinking of everyone having nicknames based on what animal they are any ideas? Oh the stories couple will be HGDM (Of course lol), HPPP, BZGW, and RWLL.

Hermione- Gray Wolf

Ginny- Coyote (Gene activated at 16)

Harry- Lion

Blaize- Panther (Black leopard)

Draco- Tundra Wolf

Pansy- Eurasian Lynx

Ron- Red Fox (I find it funny that Ginny will be bigger the Ron in animal form.)

Luna- Caracal (A type of cat that looks similar to a Lynx, Gene activated at 16)

Please read and review we would all love you if you did.

_Animal speak/flashbacks/something read_

'Thoughts/speaking to animal (they can hear your thoughts)'

**Disclaimer:** Sadly I don't own Harry Potter if I did I would have enough money for a house.

**Chapter Two**

His paws beat on the ground as he chased after the golden brown wolf. He didn't know who she was only that he had to catch her and make her his before he would feel complete. _Please Draco you have to find her. She is our mate and the only one for us. _His wolf begged as he tried to take control.

'I'm trying' Draco replied back while trying to sound as calm as possible but for once he failed.

The golden brown beauty in front of him looked back and he swore that if a wolf could have smirked she would have. She then jumped across a small creek and disappeared in thin air mid jump. Draco slid to a stop before he reached the creek and let out a loud mournful howl that seemed to echo throughout his soul.

Draco shot in bed breathing heavily and sweating. 'What the hell was that'

_That is the dreams that you will have until we claim our mate. They will get even worse once you find out who it is _His wolf replied with sigh.

The young man fell back with a groan. He just knew that after that dream his body wasn't going to let him get any more sleep. He looked at the clock by his bed and groaned even louder when he noticed that it was only 3 AM and he didn't have to be up for at least 3 more hours. 'I'm not going to get a good night sleep until all of this is over with am I?'

_More than likely not pup but it will all be worth it once we claim our mate._

Draco laughed slightly and guessed that if the wolf could have wagged his tail then he would be. He yawned and got out of bed deciding that he would just take a long bath before going downstairs. _Today we go back to Hogwarts and find our mate. _(Yes the wolf's main priority for a while will be finding Hermione.)

'How do we know that she will be at Hogwarts? She could be going to a different school then us for all we know.'

_Oh she will be, I know that much. Our mate will be there and there is a possibility of her being just like us Pup._

'How do you know all of this Wolf?'

_I know a little bit about our mate from your past encounters with her. I just don't know who she is or what she looks like but we will find out today. I can guarantee you that much._

'How come you get to know more about our mate then I do. That's not exactly fair.'

_Not all's fair in love and war Pup. Anyways I know more because I'm more open to who our mate could be then you are. You're so close minded that it surprises me that you have some good friends._

'Whatever you say Wolf and I'll ignore that last comments of yours.'

During his conversation with Wolf the huge tub was filled up and probably would have overflowed if he had talked for much longer. He added the peppermint scented oil and let out a sigh when most his body was submerged in the soothing water. He lay there for a couple hours until the water got cold. As he was walking out of the bathroom there was a loud pop as a house elf appeared. "Master Draco the mistress has requested your presence down in the dining hall. While Twinky and I finish packing your chest" the house elf said in a squeaky voice.

"Ok thank you Tella, make sure you don't forget anything that I may need. It would be bad for the head boy to have forgotten something" Draco replied.

Draco nodded to the house elf when it gave squeaky yes and popped away once more. Things had changed since Lucius went to Azkaban and was given the dementor's kiss. Things were brighter in the manor. Narcissia revamped the whole manor right after he was gone and got rid of a lot of the dark artifacts that had been around the manor for generations. His attitude has slightly changed and he was a bit nicer but that didn't mean that he liked muggleborns or the stupid self righteous Gryffindors. "Morning dear" Narcissia said breaking him out of his thoughts.

Draco smiled at his mother and said "Morning mother, sleep well?"

Narcissia looked at her son and laughed slightly because it looked like he got no sleep. "Actually yes I did. Though it looks like the mate dreams have gotten their claws in you. Am I right?"

"As always mother. I woke up at 3 AM due to the dreams and couldn't sleep after that" Draco replied with a sigh.

A few hours later Draco stood on Platform 9 3/4. He looked around with a sigh hoping that he would see the person that was made for him. He didn't see or smell anything that made his wolf howl so he stepped onto the train and headed to the heads compartment. He was only in there for a few minutes before he smelt the most delicious scent and his wolf started howling in his head. He looked at the door as it slid open and the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen walked into the compartment. He didn't realize that it was Hermione Granger until she looked at him and said "Oh great the bouncing ferret is head boy."

More out of habit then anything he growled and said "Granger I should have known that the old fool would make the mudblood head girl."

Just as he finished the sentence his wolf growled and snapped at him in his head. 'Great now my head is pounding.'

_Good you fool. You just disrespected our mate._

"Your bloody prick if you paid any attention to anything then you would realize that I am not a muggleborn or mudblood as you have liked to call me over the past years. My real last name is Walker. Bastard" She said as she angrily sat down on the seat across from him.

Draco was stunned by how she reacted and what was said. He looked at her eyes for the Walker trait that every person born into the family had and was even more shocked by what he saw. She was right; the amber eyes that all Walkers born into the family were staring back at him. For one of the first times in his life he felt ashamed by what he has done to her. For two reasons, one everything he had ever made fun of her for other than her being a know it all and a Gryffindor was wrong. Two was that she was his mate and she hated him for everything that he had done to her over the years. He could tell by her scent that she was a shifter as well but the gene wasn't activated quite yet. After those thought he did another first for him. "I'm sorry" He mumbled low enough to were she could barely hear it.

Hermione smirked as she heard the apology. The Draco Malfoy just apologized to her Hermione Walker for the first time in seven years. 'Maybe it won't be so bad to live with him for a year but then again he still is the bouncing ferret' she thought with a smile.

_You may want to call a truce Pup._

'I'll try but I can't promise that she will accept it after what I just said and how I treated her the whole time we have been at Hogwarts.'

"Umm Hermione I thought that since we have to work and live together for the year I say that we call a truce. If you want to that is" Draco said as he looked at the witch in front of him a little hesitantly.

Hermione threw back her head and laughed. "Wow, that wasn't what I expected. Though I do have one question. If I was still a muggleborn would you have proposed this so called truce?" She asked thinking she knew the answer.

"Well with the situation I am in now I would have done the same thing. It really didn't matter if you were muggleborn or pureblood. Just don't expect me to be nice to everyone now" Draco said as he looked out the window.

"Situation?" Hermione asked as her curiosity got the best of her.

_You should have kept your mouth shut when it came to our situation Pup._

'Now you bloody tell me.'

"Hello are you going to answer my question Ferret?" Hermione who was annoyed about being ignored growled out.

Draco sighed and looked at the beautiful witch. "I assume you know what a shifter is right Walker?" He asked with a sigh.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Well I am one and I'm sorry to say this, no wait scratch that I'm not sorry because I may not have realized it before but you are the perfect person for me. Smart as hell, beautiful, brave, and loyal though the last two are so much that it is a bit crazy and insane. My wolf just happens to agree with and you are my mate. I found that part out when my wolf went crazy when we smelt you and when he gave me a pounding headache for insulting you which I will try to stop to the best of my ability. If you don't believe me now then come see me after your 17th birthday and that should prove that I am correct. My wolf may not like waiting but I will probably have to with you seeing how I treated you all these years and for that I am sorry about how I have treated you" Draco said as he thought 'Might as well get it over with'.

Now that was something that Hermione never expected to hear come from the Ferr… Draco's mouth. Her eyes narrowed as her first thought was that he was just playing another cruel joke on her but for some reason she wanted to believe him. Draco seemed to notice this and sighed before closing his eyes and letting the wolf have control as long as he didn't do anything stupid. Hermione rubbed her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was right. 'It seems that Draco was telling the truth at least about the shifter part' she thought as where Draco sat a minute ago was a huge white wolf.

The wolf whined and pushed his nose under her hand to get her to pet him. "I guess the ferret isn't in control at the moment because I could never see him asking me to per him like this. Then again he already has done a few things that I thought I would never see or hear" Hermione said and she couldn't help but smile.

The wolf seemed to take her smile as an invitation and crawled onto her seat and licked her cheek before laying his head on her lap. 'You're such a suck up and the sad thing is that it works. Either that or she just likes you more than she does me. I really hope that it's the first though I highly doubt it' Draco told his wolf moodily.

_You're just mad that she is being nice to me and let me put my head on her lap. Anyways you're the one who let me have control _his wolf replied back as he wagged his tail.

"Well Draco for the sake of my sanity I will go along with your truce until you show that nothing has changed. My rules with this truce are that you refrain from insulting me, my friends, and try to stop using the word mudblood. As for the mate thing for some reason I want to believe you but I'll wait for my birthday to be sure that you are not pulling my chain. Though your wolf is doing a good job of trying to convince me that it is true I'll wait it out because I don't know how well of an actor he is" Hermione said with a slight laugh when the wolf licked her cheek again.

Suddenly the wolf's ears perked up and leapt onto the other seat and was Draco once again. Hermione gave him a questioning look until she heard the door slid open again. Professor McGonagall walked into the compartment and looked at the two head. "First congratulations on gaining this title but the staff are expecting a lot out of you two especially since you are from rival houses. You are to show the school that you can work together as a team. This means no fighting or name calling Mr. Malfoy. You will also patrol every night from 9 to 10 and make up the schedule for the perfect to patrol the rest of the night. There will be two ball's that your will organize for Halloween and Christmas. If there is anything else that the Headmaster or another staff member needs you to do you will be informed. Any questions?"

Both Draco and Hermione looked at each other and at the same time said "No Professor."

Professor McGonagall nodded at the two. "Good day" she said as she left the compartment.

The heads looked at each other for a few moments before Hermione stood up and said "Well I better go and find Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Luna before they think you killed me or something."

Draco looked down at the ground and said "Oh ok."

Hermione smiled as she thought that he looked cute and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the compartment. She didn't notice the goofy smile on Draco's face as she left.

**A/N- **How will Hermione's friends react to who she now is? Oh and Sorry if Draco is a bit OOC but he has changed a bit at least he will have to some people. To anyone else I'll try to make him the same bastard.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N –** Here's another chapter I hope that you like it. Once again got this out sooner then I thought you would.

**Disclaimer: ** Sadly I don't own Harry Potter or I might actually know something more about Grammar.

**Chapter three**

It took Hermione a while to find the compartment that her friends were in but she happened to hear Ginny and Ron arguing again. She smiled and opened the compartment doors. At first all she got were a few blank stares before she saw a flash of red hair and was knocked backwards. "Hermione" Ginny yelled as she and Hermione hit the floor with a loud thump.

"Ginny, your crushing me. Can you get off of me so that I can actually breath?" Hermione said slightly out of breath.

"What happened to you? Are you wearing those colored contacts that you told me about before and did you finally color your hair? You look great by the way Mia" Ginny said almost too fast for Hermione to understand.

"Actually speaking of that. There is something that I wanted to talk to you guys about but first Ginny you have to get off of me" Hermione said as she tried to push Ginny off her.

"Funny enough is that the rest of us wanted to talk to you about something as well but we want you to go first" Harry and Ron said with smiles as Ginny got off of Hermione.

Hermione sat down and waited for Ginny to sit down as well before she started her story. "During the summer Professor Dumbledore came by and he and my parents wanted to talk to me. They informed me that I'm actually adopted and surprisingly enough a pureblood as well. My real name is Hermione Walker…"

"I knew that your eyes looked familiar now it all seems to make sense" Ginny interrupted.

Hermione laughed at Ginny's outburst and continued "Well my parents left me a chest and I found a leather book inside. It was from my biological parents and in the book they told me that I'm something called a shifter and that I should be able to turn into a wolf on my 17th birthday."

Hermione, who was looking at her lap by the end of her speech, looked up at her friends only to see them grinning at her. "What, did I say something wrong?"

"No we're grinning because we are all shifters as well. I'm a coyote, Harry's a lion, and Ron, funny enough, is a red fox and the smallest of the group" Ginny said with a laugh at the last part.

'So now I know of four shifters other then myself. How many more shifters will there be in the school?' Hermione thought as she looked out the window for a bit. She was broken out of her thoughts by Ron. "How is it that I'm the biggest right now but even my BABY sister is bigger than me as an animal" He whined.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. 'Must he always act like a child' She though. "Oh Ginny was your gene activated early? My mom and dad mentioned it to me in the book that they left me and said that it was rare for it to happen" Hermione asked as she looked at the young red head.

"Oh the gene that activates early runs in both my mom's and Luna's family so her should be activated as well. Most shifter families know who the other shifter families are. Though it surprises me that the Malfoy's never mentioned anything about shifters to Voldemort. I guess they have some sense of either loyalty or they don't want Voldemort to know what they can do. The problem usually is when people who aren't shifters or the mate of shifters find out. We have to be careful about who finds out" Ginny explained with a serious look.

"I know that much. My parents found that out the hard way when wormtail betrayed them to Voldemort. He hunted them down like dogs and killed them when they refused to do what he wanted. He wanted to use them as spies. In his mind apparently someone who could blend in perfectly with other animals and is stronger than the normal witch or wizard was perfect" Hermione said as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry that happened to you mione. I know how you feel when it comes to that. Though I am curious about something that I never got to ask Sirius before I left. Why was my father an animagus if he could shift into a lion?" Harry said as he leaned over and hugged Hermione.

"That's because your father couldn't shift. The gene never activated for him. I only know that because my father mentioned it in the book that they gave to me" Hermione said with a sad smile.

"Oh I guess that makes sense" Harry said as he leaned back onto the seat.

Hermione laughed slightly at Harry's reaction to she said. "Oh Ginny do you have any idea who you're mate would be?"

Ginny looked at her lap sadly before looking at one of her best friends. "No, I was hoping that it would be Harry but my coyote won't even look at him twice. It sucks since I was in love with him for the past six years"

_I won't look at him twice because he is not the one for us and you were not in love with him it was just a crush that you thought was love. When we meet our mate you will eventually learn what love actually is. It just takes time sweetheart _Ginny's coyote said trying to cheer her up a bit.

'I know that now and thanks for trying to make things better. I just hope that we find him soon and that he isn't someone who has tried to make my life hell at Hogwarts'

_He is a quite but handsome one who is known around the school more for the friends he has and his name then who he really is but that is about all I know at the moment._

"Ginny it's time to put on our school uniforms. Boys get out so that we can change" Hermione said breaking Ginny out of her mental conversation.

"Why do we have to leave? You girls can always change somewhere else" Ron said as he stood up and looked at Hermione.

_You might want to listen to her Ronald. She will likely be the Alpha and your suppose to listen to the Alpha. _Ron's fox said a little nervously.

"You leave because we called the compartment first" Hermione said with a bossy tone.

Ron growled and stomped out of the compartment angrily. Harry gave them both sympathetic looks before he walked out of the compartment to let the girls change and calm down his friend. The girls just looked at each other and giggled before changing into their Gryffindor robes. Just as they finished changing the train came to a stop. "Looks like it might be another great year for us. Oh who got head boy? You forgot to mention who it was earlier" Ginny asked as they stepped off the train.

"I did didn't I. Well the head boy is none other than Mr. Draco Malfoy" Hermione replied with a slight smile.

"Ouch maybe not so good a yea..." Ginny said trailing off at the end as she caught a scent that made her coyote give out a short howl.

Ginny looked around just as someone else was as well and gasped when she meet the brown eyes of Blaize Zabini. The one Slytherin that seemed to ignore everyone but his friends who just happened to be Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy. "Ginny, what's wrong?" Hermione asked which broke Ginny out of her trance.

Ginny looked at Hermione still in somewhat of a daze. "Nothing just thought I saw something for a second."

They started to walk towards the carriages when someone grabbed onto Ginny's shoulder and spun her around. She looked up confused when she met green eyes instead of the brown that she was looking into a minute ago. Then it dawned on her that Blaize must be a shifter as well. Blaize growled low in his throat and said "Mine."

'Yep defiantly a shifter' she thought though she was going to protest about the mine part when his lips descended onto her. With that she lost all train of thought as his tongue brushed across her lips asking for entrance. She was about to grant him entrance when they were cut off by a loud yell. "Hey, you slimy Slytherin get your paws off my sister" Ron yelled as he yanked Blaize back and punched him in the face.

Blaize stepped back from the hit and looked at Ron with a loud growl. The normally calm face that he wore was gone. Just as he was about to leap at the person idiotic enough to punch him for kissing HIS mate but is mate jumped between the two trying to break up their fight. The problem was she didn't notice Ron about to punch Blaize again and got hit in the side of the face. She fell to the ground and her head hit a rock. The shifters could smell the metallic scent of blood. All Blaize saw was red as his mate hit the ground and he was about to tear the stupid red head apart but something held him back. He growled again and looked back ready to hurt the person stopping him from getting to the red head and saw Draco. "Don't kill him Blaize it would hurt her more then he has" was all the blond said.

At the same time Hermione looked at Ron and kneeled down next to her best girl friend "You bloody moron. If you had stopped to think for a bloody moment you would have bloody noticed that she was letting him kiss her. Even I could bloody notice that Zabini is her bloody mate Ronald. Now Ronald calm bloody down and in one of the carriages with Harry. I will see you at school."

Ron's fox was in a submissive position in a second due to the tone of voice she had. He recognized her as alpha even though her shifter gene hadn't been activated yet. Ron growled at the fact that his fox was submissive as all hell. He just spun around and dragged Harry to the nearest carriage which they didn't notice but it was the last one. Hermione looked down at Ginny and rolled her down onto her back. It looked like there was a pretty large cut on the side of her face. "We need to get her to the hospital wing. I think Blaze is the only person that can hold her at the moment. He may try to tear anyone else who tries apart. So let's get her to a carriage and get to Hogwarts as quickly as we can."

It took Draco a moment to reply because he was still shocked at how his Hermione blew up at one of her best friends and cussed more than those few sentences then he thought he ever heard. "The problem is sweetheart that your friends took the last carriage. We will have to walk to the castle" Draco replied as he looked around.

At the same time his wolf sat up and said _our mate is very protective of her friends. She will make a good Alpha female and mother. That will be good for whenever we have pups._

'Let's just wait a while for the kid's thing.'

"Fine then we'll have to walk but we need to get her to the school as soon as we can. You realize you called me sweetheart right Draco? No pet names until I find out if your actually my mate or not. So you'll have to wait for my birthday" Hermione said as she stood up.

Blaize wasted no time in picking his mate up bridal style and started to walk along the path towards the school. "Sorry about that. I started talking without thinking" Draco said as they started to follow the angry Italian.

"I understand that but I don't want you to call me anything but my name until it can be proven to me that you are actually my mate" Hermione said with a slight sigh.

"I'll try anything I can try and prove to you that you are my mate Hermione. As I said before you are perfect to me and probably the only one who can handle me" Draco replied as he looked at Hermione.

After that they walked in silence until they reached Hogwarts an hour later. Hermione didn't realize it until they walked into the Hospital Wing that she had walked all the way here with two Slytherins. Madam Pomfrey shuffled them over to a bed and they put Ginny on it. "She has a concussion, a laceration to the side of the head, and a large bruise on the side of her face. How did this happen?" Madam Pomfrey said as she looked at the three students that brought Ginny in.

Her brother accidently punched her when he was trying to hit me" Blaize said angrily.

_When I see that stupid weasel again I'm going to rip him to shreds _The panther stalking in Blaze growled.

'We can't Drake was right earlier when he said that if we hurt the weasel it will hurt her more then he hurt her. Remember he is still her brother and no matter what he does she will always love him' Blaize replied back trying to sound somewhat calm but failed badly.

_Fine then can I at least make his life hell until she get's after us for it._

'That I will agree with happily. The weasel hurt our mate, his own sister and for that he will pay.'

"Come one Blaize let's get some food. The feast is still going on. If you try and refuse I will drag you down there myself" Draco said breaking his friend out of his thoughts.

Blaize looked at Draco and was about to growl but knew that Draco would and could drag him to the great hall if he wanted to. "Fine but I'm coming back here right afterwards and I won't let you stop me."

"I wouldn't try to. I know that I would do the same if my mate was in the hospital. Actually I would probably be worse and not listen to reason. No come on we'll eat then you can come back here and stay by her side until she wakes up" Draco said as he grabbed his friends shoulder and pulled back on him slightly.

"You know it's going to look bad for the head boy and head girl to be late for the first feast of the year" Hermione said a little worried.

Draco smiled and put his arm on her shoulders. "They aren't going to take away our head badges for making sure that someone made it to the hospital wing Hermione. So you don't have to be worried at all" He said as he looked at his mate.

Hermione just smiled and shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "I'll race you two there" she said as she took off running.

Draco laughed and even Blaize gave a slight smile before taking off after the small witch. They caught up with her just as she reached the great hall. When they walked in the whole school stopped eating and stared at the unusual site of a Gryffindor and member of the golden trio walking in with two Slytherins. Hermione nodded at the two Slytherins then walked to the Gryffindor table and took her normal seat.

Every time Ron tried to say something to her Hermione would glare at him and then go back to eating. They all looked at the headmaster as he stood up again and started talking "I would love to introduce this year's head boy Draco Malfoy and head girl Hermione Walker. Now everyone get to bed and heads please come up here so that I can show you to your dorm."

It didn't take long but soon they were in front of a portrait of a knight in a forest. "Password?" he asked.

"Unity," Dumbledore said "this will be your password for the rest of the year. Make sure not to give the password to just anybody."

The portrait door opened and the two heads walked in. Everything was decorated in gold and silver. They had a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi style tube that Hermione loved and both their rooms were decorated in their house colors. "Oh Draco, I never got the chance to say thank you for helping earlier. I don't think it would have turned out good if Blaize killed Ron. Well then goodnight." Hermione said as she stood on the stairs to go up to her room.

"Your welcome. Sleep well" Draco replied as he walked up the steps to his room.

**A/N**- I hoped that everyone liked the chapter. I think the next chapter will be Hermione's Birthday. Please read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- **I do not own Harry Potter

**Chapter Four**

Hermione woke up on her birthday with a groan and rubbed her eyes since they felt really dry. For once she hadn't been looking forward her 17th birthday the day that he becomes on legal age in the wizarding world. She shuttered as she moved because her skin felt wrong and itched like crazy. She didn't pay attention to much of anything as she showered and got dressed. She walked down the stairs and was about to walk out the portrait when someone grabbed her shoulder and stopped her. "You can't go outside like that Hermione" Draco said knowing that she would likely protest to what he just said.

Hermione turned around angrily and glared at the blond. "Why can't I leave the common room to go get breakfast on my own birthday?" She said.

Draco sighed but didn't reply and just held up a small mirror. Hermione gasped as she realized why he wasn't letting her leave the common room. Her eyes were still the same amber that she was now used to but instead of a humans eyes she had a wolf's. "I'm sorry, I guess Harry, Ron, and Ginny are going to come here. Thank Merlin that my birthday is on a weekend and we don't have any classes" Hermione said as she looked down.

"Yes along with Pansy, Luna, and Blaize. We all are going to try and help you through your change since we have all been through it already and our parents were able to help us. Anyways even if we did have classes today you wouldn't be going none of us would" Draco said as someone knocked on the portrait door.

Hermione laughed when Draco mentioned that Pansy and Luna were coming. It turned out that Pansy and Luna were shifters as well. Pansy was a Eurasian Lynx and Harry's mate. They funny part was the human part of Harry had been horrified at first until he got to know Pansy better and how out that she had an interesting personality. Luna was a Caracal and Ron's mate. Ron, who after two weeks was finally forgiven for hitting Ginny by everyone but Blaize, had pouted for a few hours because he was "stuck with Looney Lovegood" as he called it. Then he also got to know Luna a bit better and found out she wasn't quite as "Looney" as she was the past few years. When Draco said that she wasn't going to go to classes even if it was a weekday she got angry again. "It hasn't been proven to me that you are my mate yet and anyways even if you are you cannot order me around. If it was a weekday I would go to classes no matter what you say."

Draco opened the portrait to see all of their friends outside and let them in when Hermione yelled at him. He looked at her with a glare "Would you risk everyone in the school knowing what you are just to go to a few classes that will teach you things that you already know" He said as she walked over to her his height towering over hers.

For a minute it looked like she wanted to be defiant then realized that once again Draco Malfoy was right. Hermione nodded and walked past Draco over to the couch and sat down. She rubbed her arms with a shudder her skin still itched like crazy. "It'll get better once you change. Though your wolf will probably talk to you a bit and it will be weird at first but you'll get use to it. If your mate is in the room AKA Draco as he says then your wolf could possibly go a little crazy" Pansy said as she sat down next to Harry and laid her head on his shoulder.

Hermione smiled at Pansy and Harry. Over the past few weeks they looked and acted like a couple that has been together for years then again maybe that was normal for most mated couples. Though either Harry or his lion were always complaining that they didn't get to spend enough time to with her. It seemed like his lion wanted to spend all his time with Pansy. Ron seemed to be the same when it came to Luna so it seemed to be mostly a male thing. Either that or they were just more vocal about it then the females. "The thing that may want you to not change is that your first change will be painful but after that you won't even know that it's happening. One minute your human the next you're a Caracal for my or Wolf for you" Luna Said from Ron's side.

"I know a little bit about what is supposed to happen from the book that my parents left me" Hermione said with a smile.

"Well then you should know that you are well onto your way to changing into your wolf for the first time. Which is another reason that you shouldn't leave the common room because I don't think you would want to be human one minute in front of the school and wolf the next? Most would probably think you are a werewolf" Draco said as he looked at Hermione.

Hermione looked at Draco and smiled. Over the last few weeks it seemed like things with him had changed for the better. He didn't pick on her friends though he did still pick on others and was still known as she school bully pretty much but left the golden trio, Ginny and Luna alone for the most part. Hermione groaned as pain shot through her limbs breaking her out of her thoughts. It felt like her bones were breaking and reforming again. Finally after what seemed like hours to her the pain stopped and she opened her eyes. She smelled things that she hadn't smelled before and her sight and hearing were 10 times better than they ever were. It felt like something stretched in her mind and she heard a strange voice in her head. _Hello, finally great to be awake and get to talk to you. Seems like our mate already found you though. Everything is going to work out _her wolf said with a yawn.

'So Draco is our mate? Wow this is weird I'm not use to something in my mind talking to me' Hermione replied back.

_Of course he is who else would be our mate. It will be weird at first but you'll get use to it._

Hermione nodded then realized someone was petting her head. She leaned against the person instinctively and her wolf loved the touch. Hermione had a feeling that Draco was the one petting her by the way that her wolf reacted. She looked up and noticed that she was right. When she looked up he had stopped petting her and her wolf whined and licked his hand. Draco held a mirror in front of Hermione. "Just try to remember what you look like in this form for it will make the change easier and faster whenever you are in a tight spot" He said with a slight smile.

Hermione looked in the mirror and saw a golden brown wolf with her signature amber eyes. "Now that you know what you look like in wolf form think about your human form and picture it in your mind. Once you have a good picture focus on it and you should be back to your human form. It will hurt again but whenever you do it from now on like Luna said it won't hurt anymore" Draco said as he pet her head one last time.

Hermione did as she was instructed and she heard a few gasps. When she opened her eyes nobody but Draco was looking at her. "What did I do wrong?" Hermione asked as she looked at Draco.

"You forgot to picture yourself with clothes so your naked sweetheart" Draco said as he looked her up and down.

Hermione blushed and rushed up the stairs in embarrassment. In a few minutes she came back down blushing like crazy still. "Umm sorry about that I didn't know that part. Someone could have explained it to me a bit better" She said as she glared at Draco.

"Hey you can't blame me for forgetting about that little part when it comes to my mate" Draco said trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"I hate to say this he kind of does have a point. If Ron or I were in his position we probably would have done the same thing" Harry said as Ron nodded which earned them hits from their mates.

Hermione laughed when she saw Ginny glaring at Blaise as if saying you better not be thinking the same thing. She looked at Draco and lightly hit him on the shoulder for what he had done. "Ouch, you wound me. All I did was forget one little thing and I get hit for it Why?" Draco whined jokingly.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "one I didn't hit you that hard and two to me that wasn't a little thing I might have understood if it happened if it was just us but in front of all our friends that is a bit embarrassing."

_Don't worry they are pack and may joke with you about it but at least none of them looked for very long._

'They better not have I have only one mate even if it is someone that I don't always agree with him about most things' Hermione replied back.

Draco's eyes lit up at the possibility of seeing her naked alone. When Hermione noticed this she gave him a slight glare and said "No you don't get that for a while."

Everyone else in the room were pretty much rolling on the floor laughing when Draco looked at Hermione with a puppy dog face trying to change her mind. "Hey let's let the birthday girl open her presents" Blaise said once he gained his breath again.

Ginny stopped laughing and waved her wand. A large stack of presents appeared next to Hermione. Draco picked up a large box and handed it to Hermione. "Open this one first. It's from Blaise and Ginny and yes they got permission from the headmaster to get it for you as long as you take care of it" He said with a grin.

Hermione looked at the box for a minute trying to figure out what it was. It couldn't be an Owl, cat or toad or else they wouldn't have to get permission to get it. She figured that she couldn't figure it out without opening it. When she opened the box a white puppy that looked like a ball of fluff looked up at her and barked. She picked up the puppy and hugged it as it licked her face. "It's a Maremma Sheepdog. I know that Crookshanks died over the summer and I didn't want to get you a cat to try and replace him. You never seemed interested in the different owls and I just didn't want to get you a toad. So I talked to Professor Dumbledore and he thought it was a good idea as long as it was trained well and didn't attack any students. So I had Harry, Ron, and Blaise help me look for the right type of dog and thought it would be funny to get you a dog that normally protects sheep from wolves since you are a wolf" Ginny explained so quickly that it was almost impossible to understand her.

Hermione laughed again at Ginny and put the puppy on her lap and was petting her. "Well if the dog protects sheep from wolves isn't there a possibility of it attacking me or Draco when we are in wolf form?" Hermione asked a little worried.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that too much because for one it will grow up around you in both wolf and human form and two your scent doesn't change at all in your wolf form and she will know your scent by heart" Blaise said.

Hermione nodded and said "Come on let me open more presents."

Draco continued to hand Hermione her presents until there was only one left. From her parents she got different types of chocolate, Ron and Harry got her a set of books on healing, Pansy got her a pair of earrings that she loved, and Luna got her a chocker with a sapphire pendent that will actually stay with her like a collar in wolf form and not chock her. The only present she hadn't opened yet was one from Draco. She looked at him and was about to ask him if he got her anything when he handed the last present to her. "Not sure if it can beat the dog but I saw it in one of the stores in Hogsmeade and thought of you" He said with a slight blush.

Hermione smiled at him 'He looks really cute when he blushes' she thought as she grabbed the present and started to open it. She gasped and hugged Draco when she saw the book that he had gotten her a signed 1st edition of Hogwarts a History. "How did you manage to get this?" She asked still excited.

"I have my ways. Sometimes it's good to have money and connections with certain people" Draco said as he hugged Hermione back happily.

"I think you present happened to beat mine and Ginny's. Darn I thought ours had a chance of beating yours until she actually opened it. Speaking of our present what are you going to name her" Blaise said while pretending to pout which earned him a kiss on the cheek from Ginny.

Hermione pulled back from the hug and gave Draco a kiss on the cheek as well before picking up the book and opening it only to have it taken away from her by Harry and Ron. "What are you going to name your new puppy and I think she needs to go outside." Ron said as he pointed to the puppy in the corner of the room.

Hermione picked her up quickly and said "We won't get her to the front doors in time."

"Oh don't worry about that Professor Dumbledore door had a back door added when we asked if we could get the puppy" Ginny said as she opened a door which revealed a set of stairs.

They all went down the stairs and let the puppy outside to go to the bathroom and play a little bit. "I think I'll call her Gwenevieve or Gwen for short" Hermione said as she watched Gwenevieve chase after Ron in his fox form.

Finally Gwen caught Ron when she stumbled and landed on his tail causing him to yelp. He tried to wiggle out from under the young puppy but failed since it seemed like she already weight more than he did. He changed back and stood up with a sigh. "It sucks that even the puppy is bigger than I am" He said as he looked at the white fluff ball that was jumping up on him trying to get him to play again.

Ron rolled his eyes at the puppy and became the fox once more and ran off letting Gwen chase him. Finally after about 20 minutes or so Gwen got tired and lay down panting. Hermione laughed again and walked over to Gwen and picked her up. "I think it's time to go inside. Someone looks really tired and I think that Ron could use a break" She said with a smile.

She walked up the stairs and put the puppy on the couch as she walked into the common room. "You'll just have to sleep here baby until we can get you a bed" She said as she gave the puppy a kiss on the head.

"Umm Mia you know that you can just transfigure something into a dog bed" Ginny with a smile.

Hermione blushed slightly and stared at the ground for a minute before looking at Ginny and saying "Maybe I like doing some things the muggle way still including buying a bed for my dog."

"Or maybe your just trying to come up with an excuse since you forgot that you could do something the easy way instead of trying to do it the hard way" Ginny replied back with a grin.

"Just shut up" Hermione said as she waved her was and mutter the incantation to turn one of the chair into a large and fluffy dog bed.

She then picked Gwen up and put her on the dog bed. Gwen seemed to love it as she walked around in a small circle before curling up and going to sleep almost instantly. Hermione sat down on the couch. "Why don't we watch a movie? My parents and I use to always do that when I was little and I think it would be fun. How about Lion King it was always my favorite movie." She said as she put the movie in a DVD player and turned on the TV that Dumbledore gave to them when they move in.

Somehow Dumbledore was able to make it so that muggle electronics would work at the school if someone wanted to bring them. "Lion King, What is that?" Draco, Blaise, Ron, Ginny, and Pansy all asked with confused looks.

"It's a cartoon like movie based around Lions and Hyenas. It's kind of sad in the beginning but still really good or so I think so" Hermione explained with a laugh.

Draco sat down next to her and put his arm across her shoulders with a smile. Hermione looked up at him and said as the movie started "You know that it's weird that you're my mate since you made fun of me for years. Though you have said sorry for it and I have forgiven you it's still strange because of our past."

Draco's smile faltered as she spoke and he looked down at his lap. "Once again I'm sorry for everything that I have said to you over the past years and I will try to make it up to you in the best way that I can."

Hermione looked at the sad blond next to her and kissed his cheek. "Like I said I have forgiven you for that and now that I know you are my mate I know your telling me the truth. From how my wolf is I don't think I could lie to you very easily unless I really had to. Now let's watch the movie or you're going to miss everything which would just be a shame" Hermione said with a smile when he smiled at her.

After the movie Draco looked at her and said "I'm not really sure what to think of the move but the Scar guy kind of reminded me of the dark lord and the Simba one was kind of like Harry. Is that why you picked the movie?"

Hermione had a serious look and then laughed. "I never really thought about it that way so no I didn't pick the movie because of that but you do have a point with that"

"The funny thing is I can turn into the lion though my mane is black not red" Harry said laughing as well.

For the next few hours they watched different Disney movies only stopping to grab things to eat from the kitchen that was a part of the Head's common room. "Good thing the House Elves keep this place stocked or the Weasel might have eaten all your food" Blaise said with a grin.

Ginny glared at Blaise and put her hands on her hips. "Must you always call him that degrading name and you realize that technically that is my last name as well so you could be making fun of me as well" She said angrily.

Blaise gulped _Say something idiot or she will stay mad at us for a while and could possibly try to avoid us and I will leave you with a pounding headache everyday that she ignores us until you had the balls to apologize. So if I were you I would apologize now before I have to make your life miserable._ Blaise's panther growled out.

"I'm sorry it's just I've never gotten over the fact that he hit you on the first day of school. I'm really sorry and I won't do it again if you hate it that much" Blaise said as he looked at Ginny with a sigh.


End file.
